Genus and species of plant claimed: Populus nigraxc3x97P. maximowiczii. 
This application claims benefit of New Zealand PVR Application POP006, filed Jun. 25, 2001.
The genus Populus consists of 30-40 named species many of which are able to hybridise with other species (within this genus). Poplars occur naturally throughout most parts of the temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere and have a long history of use by many societies in these areas.
A poplar breeding programme has been operating in New Zealand since 1968 with the aim of producing poplar varieties that are climatically suited to, and appropriate for end uses in New Zealand. This variety (or clonal cultivar) originated from this breeding programme from a controlled pollinated cross made in 1985.
This clonal cultivar has been vegetatively propagated (as unrooted 25 cm cuttings) from the original seedling identified by the code NZ 85-069-002. It has subsequently been vegetatively propagated as unrooted cuttings (25 cm), stakes (1 m) and poles (2 m-3 m).
It has been determined from observations of plantings of the above material that the characteristics described herein hold true to form through successive propagations.
The clonal cultivar was created as a seedling in 1985 from a controlled pollinated cross between a female P. nigra (identified as P. nigra xe2x80x98LP1xe2x80x99) and pollen from a male P. maximowiczii (itself being an open pollinated seedling, from a known female parent, from Hokkaido Japan and identified as P. maximowiczii xe2x80x9873-010-072xe2x80x99.
The cross was carried out at the National Plant Materials Centre, Staces Road, Aokautere, Palmerston North, New Zealand. The resulting seedlings were planted out in nursery beds at the Centre. The first vegetative propagation was from hardwood cuttings of dormant wood, this was also carried out at the National Plant Materials Centre in 1985. Following selections for further trial, cuttings were bulked up and a gene pool planting was established in 1990. Field trial plantings commenced in 1998.
The tree is characterised by good apical dominance resulting in a straight stem, with a steep branch angle giving a narrow crown form. The clonal cultivar shows high resistance to the rusts Melampsora larici-populina and M. medusae and also to leaf anthracnose Marssonina brunnea. It also exhibits low palatability to possums (Trichosurus vulpecula).
In a New Zealand context this gives a distinctive variety compared with previous releases by combining narrow crown form with high pest and disease resistance. This clonal cultivar has been named Shinsei.